SQL Server 2008: Dumb New Default Setting in SSMS 2008

In an effort to protect DBAs and developers from themselves, Microsoft has introduced a new default setting in SQL Server Management Studio. This setting prevents you from saving almost any change to db tables and throws out the following error:

Saving changes is not permitted. The changes that you have made require the following tables to be dropped and re-created. You have either made changes to a table that can’t be re-created or enabled the option Prevent saving changes that require the table to be re-created.

I don’t know about you, but I stopped reading at the second sentence because most Microsoft error messages do not contain super helpful information. In this case, however, they provide the solution, which is to uncheck “Prevent saving changes that require the table to be re-created.” This setting can be found in Tools -> Options -> Designers -> Table and Database Designers.

Chrissy is a Cloud and Datacenter Management & Data Platform MVP who has worked in IT for over 20 years. She is the creator of the popular SQL PowerShell module dbatools, and holds a number of certifications, including those relating to SQL Server, Linux, SharePoint and network security. You can follow her on Twitter at @cl.